CHAPTER THREE
BACK IN THE restaurant Darcey was leaving the food on her plate untouched, and observing it her unwelcome fellow diner said, ‘It’s like I told you, the boss hasn’t been his usual self today for some reason. Why don’t we two make a night of it while he’s riding the waves?’
She rose to her feet and said briefly, ‘No, thanks. I’m going. It’s been a long day and I’m tired.’ And before he could comment further she had called the waitress over, paid the bill, and was on her way back to her accommodation.
On her way home Darcey heard someone say that the coastguards had been onto the lifeboat station to report that a yacht was in trouble out in the bay, and within minutes Daniel and the rest of the crew were kitted out and ready to sail into the winter night with all speed, while back in her small apartment Darcey crouched by the window that overlooked the sea and prayed that they would soon return with the boat and its occupants brought to safety, and after what seemed an eternity she saw white sails in the light of a pale moon with the lifeboat alongside, and sent up a prayer of thanks for all those concerned.
Especially for the man who had spent a busy day working in Oceans House, making good the problems of others, then had gone without the meal that he must have been more than ready for to take part in a situation that could have been dangerous in the extreme. As she closed the curtains and readied herself for bed she prayed that Brendan Stokes would not turn the incident of Daniel Osbourne’s seeing them together in the restaurant into a tale of false innuendos.
The day’s happenings had made her realise just how much Daniel’s good opinion of her mattered to her and with that thought came the memory of her glib refusal of a sail with him and some of his club members during the festive season, giving him the impression that she would be living it up all over Christmas.
When he appeared the next morning she flashed him a tentative smile as he began his rounds but was met with a brief nod as he went from bed to bed, checking his young patients and passing on to her his requirements regarding them where necessary. Darcey felt that the only good thing to be happening was the absence of her dining companion of the night before, who, it appeared, was going to be away on a course for the coming week.
Daniel was determined to remain coolly professional towards Darcey. The sighting of her with Brendan in the restaurant the night before had made him think how mistaken he’d been about her, after seeing her ignore Brendan on the ward only to find her dining with him happily enough at the end of their working day. No doubt that was the reason why she was fully booked for the activities of Christmas.
As for himself he had almost been on the point of changing his mind regarding his solitary existence, only to discover that she had an agenda of her own that he had known nothing about. The tired traveller on the train journey of not so long ago was turning out to be anything but short of company by the looks of it.
* * *
On the following Saturday Darcey was free from hospital duty and leaving the promenade behind went shopping in the town for food and other necessities, and once that was done she went into a nearby café for afternoon tea with the idea of delaying her return to the emptiness of her living quarters.
As she looked around her a woman seated at the next table smiled in her direction and as she acknowledged the gesture from a stranger with a smile of her own Darcey felt she looked vaguely familiar, and a flashback of herself zooming down the hospital corridor where Daniel Osbourne was chatting to his sister and her family, as she’d discovered afterwards, came to her.
‘Would you mind if I join you?’ the woman asked.
‘No, not at all. I would be glad of the company,’ Darcey told her, and thought if this was who she thought she was maybe she might get to know something more about the man who was in her thoughts more than was good for her.
The woman introduced herself as Cordelia, and seated herself beside her. ‘I remember seeing you at Oceans House’s Orthopaedic Centre not long ago. My children and I had called briefly to see my brother, who is a great favourite with my little girls, and you went past us on the corridor, I recall.’
‘Er...yes, that was me,’ Darcey told her. ‘I didn’t want to intrude and quickly made my departure.’
‘How long have you worked at the centre?’ Cordelia questioned.
‘Just a matter of weeks,’ replied Darcey.
‘And do you like it there?’
Darcey frowned slightly. ‘Yes, and no. It can be quite lonely as I spend nearly all my free time on my own, which is only to be expected when one is living in a strange place, I suppose, but I love the job. When I saw a vacancy advertised for a ward sister at a coastal resort I didn’t hesitate, and basically I have no regrets.’
‘Would you like to dine with us one evening during Christmas to break the monotony?’ Cordelia asked. ‘I could invite Daniel along to swell the numbers.’
Darcey felt her face flush. ‘It is very kind of you to invite me,’ she said hastily, ‘but I feel that Dr Osbourne wouldn’t like it as he sees enough of me on the ward, without my intruding into his private life.’
‘All right, if that is how you feel,’ Cordelia said understandingly. ‘But do let me know if you change your mind. Now I must go. My husband has taken our daughters out for the afternoon and they’ll be back soon and ready for a meal. But one last thing before I go, what is your name?’
‘Darcey Howard,’ she said, with the feeling that she was getting out of her depth.
‘Well, it has been nice to meet you,’ the other woman said, and with that she was gone, leaving Darcey to visualise Daniel Osbourne’s expression if he found himself thrown together with her socially after the chill he was bringing with him every time he entered the ward.
She went overboard with the shopping and as she stepped off one of the trams that ran along the promenade she pointed herself and her bags in the direction of her apartment, only to be brought to a halt momentarily as Daniel came walking towards her out of the hospital’s main entrance. Observing her heavy load, he stopped to say, ‘Let me take those for you, Darcey,’ and as she hesitated, ‘Have you started shopping for Christmas already?’
‘Maybe just a couple of things,’ she admitted as he took her shopping from her, ‘but most of it was a weekly shop for the basics. Yet I did find time to have afternoon tea while I was out, which was nice, and while there I had the pleasure of getting to know your sister.’
She saw the dark hazel of his eyes widen, but his voice was calm enough as he said, ‘You met Cordelia? How did that come about?’
‘She was sitting at the next table and recognised me from the afternoon when she and your nieces called at Oceans House to see you, and the two of us had a nice long chat.’
‘Not about me, I hope?’ he questioned, and now his voice was cool.
‘Well, maybe just a little, I suppose,’ Darcey admitted uncomfortably. ‘She invited me to dine with them and yourself some evening over Christmas but I felt that you might see enough of me during the day at the hospital without another appearance later.’
‘That is as it may be, but aren’t you all booked up over Christmas, if I remember rightly?’ he said smoothly, and the moment to tell him the truth of what exactly she would be doing passed by because she was hurt to think that the man who was like no other she had ever met might be pairing her off with someone like Brendan Stokes.
‘Yes, I suppose there is that. I can’t let someone down at the last moment,’ she agreed, with the thought in mind that it was only herself that she was letting down by not telling him the truth, that because she had no friends to turn to over Christmas she was going to give instead of take by being with the sick young ones in her care, and that an evening spent with him and his family would be something to hang onto in her loneliness.
But they were at the door of her apartment. Daniel was placing her shopping carefully on the
step ready to be off and Darcey knew she couldn’t beg for his company and that of his family, even if she never spoke to a soul over Christmas other than her young patients and their families.
As they faced each other she thanked him for carrying her shopping and, unaware of how much their unexpected meeting meant to her, he gave a brief farewell and was gone.
* * *
It was Ely’s first night back with them after his illness and Daniel had been home to change his clothes before the evening ahead when he’d seen Darcey get off the tram and had found himself searching around for an excuse to linger and then thought better of it, but it didn’t stop him from wondering what Cordelia was up to.
He knew that his sister wasn’t happy about his solitary life but it was his choice, and even if he was attracted to Darcey Howard, so what? He hadn’t forgotten seeing her and Brendan Stokes all cosy together in the restaurant, and he’d noted that Stokes had booked the time off way back to make sure that he wasn’t caught up in the work zone during the festive season.
* * *
As Darcey unpacked her shopping the thought was there that Daniel hadn’t been bursting to socialise with her at his sister’s house during Christmas, which was not surprising, she supposed, if he was the loner that he appeared to be.
But what was it that he was expecting of her if she did? That she would pin him down beneath the mistletoe? Expect him to be dressed up as Santa Claus? Or that she might turn up looking like a Christmas fairy?
She’d done that several times when Alexander had been small and crying for his mother. But none of that was likely. If he was a touch-me-not, so was she, and on that thought she resigned herself to another lonely evening.
* * *
It had been great having Ely back amongst them at the club, Daniel thought as he made his way home after the meeting, and to make it even better the first of the two injured youths had been discharged by him from Oceans House and been well enough to attend, which left just one missing member, and Daniel was hoping that soon he too would be ready to leave the hospital, having also had time to dwell on their recklessness in taking the boat out without supervision.
It was cold, frost was glinting on the pavements and rooftops, and all the eating and drinking places on the promenade were full of those seeking warmth and company on a November night. Tempted by the scenes around him Daniel decided that a hot supper would be just the thing on such an occasion with the right company if possible and his thoughts went to Darcey who he had left earlier.
Would she be in or out? he wondered. And what would she think if he was to knock on her door to find out?
* * *
It had been as she’d expected, Darcey was thinking, a boring and lonely Saturday evening with no doubt many more to come, and as she gazed out of her window into the dark night her eyes widened as she observed Daniel walking purposefully towards her front door in the light of a nearby streetlamp, and when she opened it in answer to his knock he said, ‘Can I come in? I thought you might have gone to bed but it seems not.’
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked in amazed enquiry.
He was smiling. ‘Only if you say no.’
‘What?’ she exclaimed. ‘I don’t understand. Why have you come?’
‘I was walking home from the club, in high spirits I may add because it has been a great night with Ely back amongst us, along with one of the lads that I’ve been able to discharge from Oceans House, and I suddenly felt the need of a hot supper but didn’t fancy eating alone. Knowing that you live quite near to all the night life of the area I wondered if you would like to join me?’
‘But I’m not dressed for the occasion,’ she protested, ‘and why me?’
‘I’ve just explained that you were the nearest person to ask. So what do you say? All you have to do is put on a warm coat and off we go.’
‘Yes, all right,’ she agreed slowly. ‘It has been a long, boring evening so maybe I’m ready for a change of scene, just as long as you’re sure.’
* * *
Unexpectedly, Daniel felt his heart lifting. ‘I’m sure,’ he said. ‘What do I have to do to convince you? The place we go to can be your choice.’ He was tempted to comment, As long as it isn’t where I saw you with Brendan Stokes, but thought better of it as that would put the dampener on the moment, if anything did.
‘Where do you usually dine?’ she asked as they left for the bright lights of the promenade. ‘You know the place so much better than I do.’
‘Right here,’ he said, pausing outside the upmarket restaurant that was always his choice, unless it was at the end of an extra busy day at the hospital.
If that was the case he went to the first one he came to as he had done on the night when he’d seen her with Brendan.
‘So do you want to try it?’ he questioned.
‘Oh, yes, please!’ she said with eyes shining at the suggestion, and Daniel thought how different she was now from the weary traveller of that day on the train. Yet he still didn’t know anything about her background. The only family member she’d mentioned had been her young brother, but surely there were others?
He was rather short on the ground with relatives himself, but Cordelia and her family were joy untold to have near so what more could he ask? And as the answer to that question surged forth, he pushed it to the back of his mind.
Of course he wanted children of his own, much as he loved his young nieces, but children needed a mother, which was a gap that he couldn’t ever see himself filling, and with regard to his curiosity regarding Darcey’s family, maybe that was where she was planning to go over Christmas, the thought of which would be much easier to contend with than days and maybe nights imagining her with Brendan Stokes.
Darcey observed Daniel, wondering what was going through his mind, as they studied the menu, and was on the point of finding out when he spoke.
‘What are your family planning for over Christmas?’ he asked casually, and she hoped she’d managed to hide the raw hurt that question caused.
‘If you mean my brother, he’s spending some time in Thailand over Christmas with a couple of friends. It’s the first time we have ever been apart at this time of year and I’m missing him. The three of them have been bitten by the travel bug, which has left me alone, and if that sounds self-pitying I can’t help it.’
‘So what do your parents say about that?’ he enquired.
‘They are dead,’ she told him flatly. ‘I’ve brought Alex up since he was eight years old. There has just been the two of us and we’ve been happy enough, though I’ve known all along that one day he would want to branch out on his own, but didn’t expect that it would be so soon.’
A waiter was approaching to take their order and when that had been accomplished she said, ‘And that is it, but the trouble about caring is that it can come to be a habit that isn’t easily broken.’
‘Yes,’ he agreed, ‘and a burden that one can’t easily be free of. I know because I’ve been there. But I haven’t coaxed you out into the frosty night to depress you,’ he said gently, ‘and, Darcey, the young folk of today should be able to cope.’
‘I know,’ she agreed. ‘I’m the one who isn’t coping and I suppose I should know better.’
He reached across and stroking her hand said gently, ‘There wouldn’t have been many teenage girls prepared to do what you did for your young brother, to have been there for him until he reached manhood.
‘So don’t have any feelings of remorse. Instead be proud of yourself and watch as he becomes the man that your parents would have wanted him to be through you.’
As the food they had ordered, a veritable feast, was placed in front of them, and the man sitting opposite seemed more like a friend than a senior medical figure, or mentor of a group of young would-be sailors, Darcey couldn’t believe how much she was enjoying the unexpected invitation to join him for a h
ot supper in a first-class restaurant. The only flaw was that he hadn’t given her time to dress up for the occasion.
It would be something to remember in the long dark nights of winter when she was alone, and she hoped that the man sitting opposite hadn’t invited her to dine with him because he felt sorry for her.
‘So how do you like being based in Seahaven?’ he asked as she gazed around her. ‘Is the absence of your young brother taking the pleasure out of it in any way?’
Her smile was wry as she told him, ‘Yes, I suppose I could say that because there has been just the two of us for so long I’m finding it hard to let go, but I’m finally seeing sense, as after all the only thing I want for him is that he should be happy, and that is what he is at present.’
‘And what about you? Are you happy, Darcey?’ he questioned gravely.
‘At this moment I’m in heaven,’ she told him recklessly, and when he had no comment to make lapsed into silence with the feeling that she had overdone the rapture somewhat on the strength of a nice meal in elegant surroundings.
As they walked towards her home when the meal was over and midnight was approaching, there was silence between them. The pleasure of the evening was disappearing fast as Darcey reminded herself uncomfortably that Daniel had only taken her for a meal to fill a gap.
That from what she’d heard, he was strictly off liaisons with her sex, and when they reached her door she turned the key quickly in the lock and at the same time thanked him for the meal, then was gone before she made any more unwanted comments.
* * *
They were there again when Daniel opened his door some minutes later, the silent rooms, the lack of a woman’s touch that he’d never had any problems with since Katrina’s departure. But now he was wanting it gone, and of all things that he didn’t want at that moment was for the phone to ring with a message for the lifeboat crew to tell them to be on the alert for a turn-out call to a stranded pleasure steamer that was having problems that it might be able to sort out, or it might not. When all he wanted was to sit quietly and remember the moments he’d just spent in the company of a woman who, it seemed, had got her priorities right.
The Shy Nurse's Christmas Wish Page 4